This is a series of random drabbles that I will add to from time to time in between working on my longer stories, to keep my creativity flowing and as a challenge to myself to write chapters that are much shorter in length and a lot more concise. I have a tendency to ramble when I write so I'm trying to keep this fic "short and sweet", so to speak. A few of my fellow authors have been doing their own series of drabbles lately and I am really enjoying them, so I thought I would give it a shot myself. :)

These little chapters will mostly be centered around Olivia and Amanda but might include other characters from time to time, and will take place anywhere from season 13 to the present day. The genres and ratings will vary, depending on what I decide to write about. I hope you enjoy. :)

Noah and Jesse don't exist in the first drabble.

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Title: Temptation

Genre: Hurt/comfort/friendship

Rating: T

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Amanda Rollins is standing drunkenly outside the casino on shaking legs, chain-smoking an entire package of cigarettes one right after the other until she crushes the small empty box between trembling fingers and drops it carelessly onto the ground. Her knees are knocking together in nervous anticipation, the excitement and dread coiling tightly into an uncomfortable knot inside her stomach and her vision blurring dangerously as she gazes up at the glowing neon sign of the building in front of her.

She has no idea what to do with her hands now that there are no cigarettes left to smoke, and the pads of her fingers brush cautiously up against the cell phone that is tucked into her pocket. Amanda's heart is pounding with a sickening speed against her ribs and a cold sweat has broken out along her hairline, pasting the golden locks to her forehead like glue. She knows she needs help right now; that if she doesn't call someone right this instant, her intended actions will result in disaster and she will plummet right back down to rock bottom as the addiction that she has been battling for so many years has reared its ugly head once again.

Amanda is very hesitant as she holds her phone in a clammy palm, quivering fingers scrolling through the list of names and trying to locate the one she is looking for; the only person she would dare call this late on a weeknight. Her partner has been there for her since day one and has seen her through many ups and down over the years, and although she usually tries to keep her problems to herself, this time they cannot be contained and she knows she is going to spiral downward very hard and very fast if she doesn't hear his voice on the other end of the line within the next minute.

Amanda's heart is in her throat as she listens to the shrill ringing, the sound particularly loud and obnoxious in her drunken state, and she is babbling almost incoherently as soon as she hears the person on the other end of the line pick up, not even waiting for a hello.

"Fin, I need your help," she gasps out desperately, beyond caring how pathetic and vulnerable she must sound, a far cry from her usual tough-as-nails cop demeanor.

Amanda's brow wrinkles in confusion when she doesn't hear an immediate response, the shuddering of her hand and the slippery sweat of her skin almost causing her to drop the phone, and her heart feels like it grinds to a complete halt inside her chest when the person on the other end of the line finally speaks, the distinctly female voice laced with sleep and concern.

"This isn't Fin."

Amanda wrenches the phone away from her ear and squints at the display screen with a bleary, tear-filled gaze, blue eyes widening in horror when she sees who she has called. "Ummm...s-sorry, Olivia," she stutters out, the realization that she has called her lieutenant in the middle of the night due to the pending relapse of her gambling addiction piercing straight through the booze-induced haze in her brain and causing a wave of panic to crash over her.

"What's going on, Amanda?" Olivia's tone is more alert now and holds only worry and compassion, neither of which Amanda is used to hearing from her boss, and the frown on her face deepens in perplexity.

"N-nothing's going on," she chokes out, unable to stop her tongue from tripping over itself as she tries to speak, not wanting the older woman to know that her subordinate is drunk off her ass at two o'clock in the morning on a Wednesday and is standing outside a casino with tears of shame trickling down her cheeks.

"Well, I think it's obvious that something is wrong, since you just asked for help. Is there anything I can help you with?" Olivia's voice is soothing and gentle and completely non-judgmental and the tears are flowing in earnest now, Amanda's face drenched in the salty liquid and a sob of despair bubbling up inside her throat.

She is calling herself every curse word she can think of inside her head, unable to believe that she is actually talking to her lieutenant right now instead of her partner, knowing that Olivia isn't going to let this go and will only call right back if Amanda decides to hang up on her. She inhales a deep quavering breath, intending on calmly explaining that she had simply called the wrong number and only needs Fin's assistance at the moment, but what comes out of her mouth is the complete opposite of what she had planned to say.

A deep, guttural wail works its way out from between her dry lips and Amanda claps a hand over her mouth in panicked mortification, her eyelids squeezing tightly closed as the sobs pour out one after another now, seemingly unable to be contained. She is aware that Olivia is speaking to her again and tries in vain to focus on her boss' pacifying tone, turning away from the curious gazes of fellow New Yorkers who are passing by on the sidewalk and huddling into the corner of the building.

"Amanda, sweetheart, just take a deep breath for me, okay?" Olivia instructs softly, and Amanda's face crumples at the surprisingly tender sound of the older woman's voice and the uncharacteristic use of the pet name. "Just try to calm down and tell me what's wrong. What's happening right now? Where are you?"

Amanda doesn't want to admit it; is loathe to actually say the words, but they come spilling out from between trembling lips seemingly without permission. "A-at a casino," she wheezes through her tears, dragging a shaking arm across soaking wet cheeks.

There is a brief silence and she winces in shame, biting down hard on her lower lip because she knows that Olivia is going to lay right into her; will likely berate her for being so weak and feeble and unable to keep her addiction under control, and she braces herself for the inevitable, shoulders hunching up to her ears in defense.

"Alright," Olivia replies simply, no condemnation whatsoever apparent in her tone, and Amanda's eyebrows raise high on her forehead in shock. "Tell me which casino you're at and I'll come get you."

"What?" Amanda is beyond stunned now, having trouble grasping onto the astonishing fact that her boss is actually going to drag herself out of bed on a work night to come to her pathetic detective's rescue and save her from this addiction that has appeared out of nowhere to consume her once again.

"Tell me where you are and I'll come get you," Olivia repeats softly but there is a certain urgency present in her tone, and Amanda can hear slight rustling sounds in the background, like the older woman has gotten out of bed and is getting dressed in a somewhat hurried manner.

"You don't have to do that," she protests in humiliation, although there is another emotion peeking up through the negativity now, and Amanda realizes that she is extremely grateful.

"I know I don't," Olivia responds in quiet sympathy, and there is a jingling of car keys coming through the line now. "I want to, Amanda. I want to help you."

"I n-need to gamble, Liv," Amanda finds herself crying out, unable to stop this rapid spill of shameful confessions at the kindness and generosity radiating from her lieutenant's voice. "I can't make the urges stop. I tried drinking them away and smoking them away, but they won't leave me alone." She pauses briefly to swallow down another sob of agony and distress. "I don't think you can help me. I don't think anyone can."

"Will you at least let me try?" Olivia whispers, and Amanda is shocked at the depth of emotion and empathy in the other woman's voice, a feeling of warmth unfurling inside her chest as her boss continues to speak. "Please let me try, sweetheart, okay?"

Amanda is exceptionally hesitant, debating whether or not to let the other woman assist and support her during her time of need, when this had not been her intention at all; when the only person she had been planning on having as a witness to her dramatic meltdown was her partner. She had certainly not been prepared for her lieutenant to be present during this awkward situation, but this is the way things have turned out and Olivia is here for her now, offering her compassion and understanding, whether she had planned for it or not.

"Okay," Amanda finally whispers back, her eyelids fluttering closed in exhaustion and the tears finally coming to a stop, a hint of hopeful relief creeping up through the darkness.